Households charged

17 May 2012

0

Residents of Fairgreen’s De Vesci Court are being forced to pay over €1,500 per year to live in the estate and were last year forced to pay an extra €700 to cover residents who were not paying the management fees.

Residents of Fairgreen’s De Vesci Court are being forced to pay over €1,500 per year to live in the estate and were last year forced to pay an extra €700 to cover residents who were not paying the management fees.

Details obtained by the Leinster Express reveal that residents are paying more than €160,000 in management fees this year.

On top of the €100 household charge and water charges which are soon to be introduced by the Government, the Fairgreen residents are being forced to pay large amounts each year for the general maintenance and upkeep of the buildings and surrounding areas.

According to Kildare based Falcondale Properties Ltd, the company responsible for De Vesci Court, the total bill for looking after the general upkeep and maintenance for the 94 units in De Vesci Court will cost over €160,000 for this year.

One resident, who did not wish to be named said people are sick of the high fees.

“The residents are getting nowhere. Everyone is giving out but no one knows what to do. We’re sick of it,” she said.

Since this woman moved to De Vesci Court, the management fees have increased by around €600.

Paying residents were also hit with a €700 levy to cover the expenses of those who were not paying.

“The fees are different every year. The first year I was here, it was €1,097, the following year it was €1,235.

“The third year there was a levy of €700 on top of the fee which brought it up to €1,975 and this year is €1,695.”

“Most people are now not paying the fees, because they felt that nothing was being done around the place.”

Sinn Fein Councillor, Alan Hand raised the issue at a recent meeting of Portlaoise Town Council.

He said something would have to be done about manangement company fees. He said it was something that he was going to continue to research on a personal level.

“People are struggling to pay their mortgages. There needs to be a cap put on these fees,” he told the meeting.

Speaking to the Leinster Express, he said: “I can see the need for insurance cover and a rainy day fund, but for the residents in De Vesci Court the fees are rising year on year.

“The lobby is filthy, there is graffiti on the walls and the grass was getting high because it was not being cut.

“In Esker Hills they pay €900 per year and that would be the top end of the scale in Portlaoise. In Kilminchy the fee is around €200 per year, and there is 26 acres of grass to keep cut there.”

Falcondale Properties declined to comment on the management fees in the Fairgreen Estate.

If you wish, you can contact us using any of the methods below: Leinster Express,Dublin Road,PortlaoiseEmail: editor@leinsterexpress.ieTelephone: 057 8621666

This website and its associated newspaper are full participating members of the Press Council of Ireland and supports the Office of the Press Ombudsman. This scheme in addition to defending the freedom of the press, offers readers a quick, fair and free method of dealing with complaints that they may have in relation to articles that appear on our pages. To contact the Office of the Press Ombudsman go to www.pressombudsman.ie or www.presscouncil.ie Leinster Express provides news, events and sport features from the Portlaoise area. For the best up to date information relating to Portlaoise and the surrounding areas visit us at Leinster Express regularly or bookmark this page.